The “quick and hassle-free” process of renewing my residency card in Spain

Last month I picked up my new foreigner residency card at the police station so that I could be “legal” for another year in Spain.  This was the first time I have actually had to renew my card from within Spain and I must say that the process, while extremely interesting to me as a foreigner (I’d never seen anything quite like it in my life), was not exactly what I would consider “seamless.” 

To give you an idea of what I had to do to get my residency card renewed here in Spain, I’m going to break the process down into steps.  So, without further ado, here are the steps along with their approximate dates:

Step 1 (June, 2009): I went to the Foreigner Services Office and requested information about renewing my residency permit.  I was given forms to fill out and was told I wouldn’t be able to submit them until August because my current card wasn’t actually due to expire until September. 

Step 2 (August, 2009): I returned to the Foreign Services Office and turned in the forms that they had given me in June.  But I ran into a problem — I didn’t have all the photocopies I needed (they neglected to tell me about the copies when I went for information the first time).  To fix the problem I needed to get photocopies.

Step 3 (August, 2009): I left the Foreign Services Office, walked down the street, and made photocopies at a UPS Store. 

Step 4 (August, 2009): I returned to the Foreign Services Office — this time with the correct photocopies — and submitted the paperwork.  I was told that the next step would be to wait for a letter to arrive in the mail. 

Step 5 (September, 2009): The letter arrived in my mail saying that my request for the renewal of my residency permit was granted.  Along with the letter came a form for me to pay a fee into a public account at the bank. 

Step 6 (September, 2009): I took the letter to the bank and made the necessary payment.  The man at the bank gave me a receipt for me to deliver personally back to the Foreign Services Office.

Step 7 (September, 2009): I delivered the receipt from the bank to the Foreign Services Office.  There, they instructed me to go to the main police station of the city with three passport photos so that my foreigner ID card could be made.

Step 8 (September, 2009): I went to the police station and told them I was there to have my ID card made.  Once there, they told me that there was another fee that I would have to pay (not the same as the one I paid to the Foreign Services Office) and there were also several other forms I would need to fill out.  I got all the information.

Step 9 (September, 2009): After getting the information at the police station, I filled out the forms and made the second payment at the bank.  The bank again gave me a receipt.  This receipt was to be submitted with the forms at the police station.

Step 10 (September 2009): I returned to the police station with my receipt from the bank.  My fingerprints were taken and they told me to return in one month to pick up my new ID card. 

Step 11 (October, 2009): After the one-month waiting period, I returned to the police station to pick up my ID card.  By this time, I had made so many trips back and forth to public buildings that I practically kissed the officer who handed me the card because I knew it meant the end to my “paperwork madness.” 

So, after an eleven-step process that spanned four or five months, I can finally say that I am in possession of my new residency card.  For the most part, the public workers who I encountered during this ordeal were friendly and helpful; however, I found all these steps to be, well, a bit illogical and counterproductive.  Towards the end, however, the “haphazardness” of the whole process became a bit amusing to me; in fact, I even began to chuckle a bit to myself during one of my several trips between banks and public offices. 

So, here is my question to those who have lived in Spain longer than I have.  Is everything like this when it comes to submitting paperwork to the government?  I would love to hear your stories related with these types of “situations” in Spain.  Leave your comments below.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com